I have too many pm asking about what under my sump, my maintenance schedule, and my parameters. I did mention in this thread, but it’s been a while. So let’s me make it easier for new people come to this thread by recap everything again.
Daily :
- Dose 85 ml alk and 85 ml Cal (ESV 2 parts) every day by apex DOS
- Manually dose 1 ml of each component REDSEA color A, B, C, D (not consistent, I skip sometime)
- Feed fish: 1 cube mysis
- Feed corals: 1 pinch reefroid (not consistent, I skip sometime)
I turn off the return but leave the powerheads on when feeding
- Test for alk every other day. If results between 8-9dkh —> take no action.
* Most important task: observing the tank:
- Look for polyps extension: if one or more corals have poor pe (lesser than normal) —> something wrong. My first response usually test for Alk, Salinity. Then do water change, change GAC
Tips: looking for the “indicator” acro in your system. In my system, it is the ASD Doomsday. The colony always have crazy polyps extension, so whenever I notice lesser the pe on this acro, definitely there’s something wrong.
- Look for appearance of algae in the system: bubble algae, glass algae, turf algae. As long as they are available but not outbreak —> take no action. If the tank too clean, no algae: switch skimmer back to part time, feed more reefroid.
Bi-weekly:
- 10 gallons water change every 2 weeks using ESV salt.
Remove chaeto, clean the sump when doing wc. Test for Salinity.
Monthly:
- Test for Calcium, Mg. Shoot for >400ppm Calcium and >1400ppmMg
Under the sump:
- Heavy duty skimmer : Nyos 160 rate up to 260 gallons
- Refugium with chaeto (not tumble)
- Bacteria media: Marinepure block 8x4, sphere.
- GAC in a bag.
I am not proud of my sump. I installed it 3 years ago when I new to salt water. I didn’t even put a mat under it. Too many wires and way too messy. But I don’t want to do all the plumbing again, so let’s it be what it is then![emoji28]
Lighting:
- I have 2 radions gen3 pro (AB+ schedule at 65% intensity) with 4 t5s supplement (3 blue plus, 1 purple plus)
- My frag tank: radion xr15 gen3 pro. I notice the color still very good without the t5s. But definitely better with the t5s
My goal is keep everything simple. Spend more time enjoy the corals rather than on worrying about numbers. [emoji4]
If you have any questions, I am happy to answer.